No Matter What
by Val Perham
Summary: Bao-Dur and the Exile have a heart-to-heart during a rainstorm on Duxn.


**A/N: Yes, finally a new fanfic from meh, your official representative of the Mellophone Mafia! This came to me when I was in history and our teacher put on this CD called 'Raindrop Dreams'. It was all piano with the sound or raindrops in the background. I automatically thought of Dxun, and started planning this. It's Bao-durxFeExile friendship, so enjoy it. Now let's move on with the show.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Sue me if you wish, but you'll get nothing.**

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_From the ship, they could see the battle on the planet below. Malachor V. It was a taboo world to the Mandalorians, and some thought it was low for the Republic to have lured them there. It was no matter to him, though. He didn't care what those monsters wanted or liked. He just wanted them dead. He wanted them dead for all the lives they had ended. All the death they had caused. He stood, next to the young woman, the young Jedi Knight, who he had been serving under. She _was_ young, but she was a natural leader. She bonded with people easily, she inspired her troops. They'd die for her, and they had. She carried the weight of all of her troops on her small shoulders. He couldn't help but admire her. Of course, he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, her father before her had been a great general, before retiring due to old battle wounds. It ran in her blood. _

_Her gray eyes watched the battle, deciding what the best move would be. Would she send more troops to the surface to fight, or would she end it all, here and now? He waited for either of the signals, his fingers on the switch. What she would choose was a mystery to him, as it had always been. He could suppose, however, that she wouldn't end all the lives of the Republic soldiers and Jedi on Malachor. Despite the fact she turned on the Council, she was still a Jedi. She wouldn't kill people on her side unnecessarily. For a fraction of a second, she looked at him, her face suddenly overcome with a sad weariness. Then, she turned from the viewing port, and nodded once. Then she walked away. He stood, for a few seconds, watching her leave,_ _then he turned back to his creation and he flicked the just like that, it was done._

Bao-Dur woke up at the sound of thunder. He sighed. Force, he hated this place. With its never-ending rain and thunderstorms. And let's not forget all the carnivorous animal life there, too. These were the reasons he kept telling himself, but he knew the real reason. Dxun had been the site of not one, but two battles in the Mandalorian wars. Of course, one had been significantly bloodier than the other; the second one to be exact. It had been after the Jedi had joined in the war. Bao knew what had happened here. He knew why the General was so out of it, so sad. He looked over at her. She was sitting at the mouth of the cave that they had chosen as shelter. Her face looked angular in the light of the fire they had managed to build from dry sticks they had found in the cave and some tinder they had brought with them. She was looking out into the storm, arms hugging her legs into her chest. Something was obviously bothering her, and he had a general idea of what. Not that he pretended that he knew her well. He was just good at reading people.

He walked silently to her, surprised that she didn't turn to look at him. She must have been thinking harder that he had thought. He finally sat down next to her, searching for something to say. But she beat him to it.

"You were muttering in your sleep. Are you okay," She asked, turning her head to look at him. Of course she knew he had moved. She was a Jedi. Or an ex-Jedi, at any rate. Why would he think he could sneak up on her?

"Yes, General. I'm perfectly fine. Just a nightmare," He responded. Okay, so it was a memory, but a nightmarish memory. A memory that he never wanted to relive, but that had him every night since it happened. He couldn't let go of the fact that he had flipped the switch, he had caused the deaths of all those people. Not just the Mandalorians, but the Republic soldiers, the Jedi who had followed Revan, Malak, and the woman who was sitting in front of him. She was without a doubt the unsung hero of the Mandalorian Wars. Most likely because after she had chosen to face the Jedi council's judgment, she became, as Atton had so eloquently put it, another dirty little Jedi secret to be brushed under the cargo ramp. He respected her for facing the judgment of her superiors, for going back. He wouldn't have had the courage to do so.

"You know, Bao, you could call me Deirdre," She informed him with a wry smile. "The war is over. I'm not a general anymore."

"That's the thing, Gen-,"He stopped himself. "Deirdre. You still are. You still lead with an expertise it takes most years to master. When you first came into the wars, I thought it was because of your father, but now....I think it's you. There's something about you that makes people want to follow you, no matter what happens. That's what makes you General in my mind." He was surprised at himself. He almost never talked that much, and he was curious as to what made him say it. But he knew what he said was true. She was what some people called a natural leader. She was the first and only one he had ever met, but she was enough to make him believe in them.

"Great. So I have some mystical power that makes people forget the value of their life and follow me to their death. Fan-freaking-tastic. Thanks, you sure do know how to make me feel better," She said sarcastically.

He sighed. Force, she was difficult! "You know that's not what I meant. I meant that you lead. It's what you do. You lead, Atton gambles, I fix droids and ships, and Kreia makes cryptic comments about pretty much everything. It's the way we are, and we could try and stop, but it wouldn't make a difference. You'd still go to Atton if you need to play a game of pazaak, come to me if you need something repaired, and go to Kreia if you want to stand there for an hour or so and try to unravel what she's saying. And we will always look to you for leadership. And no matter what happens..."He touched her shoulder, a show of comfort and of friend ship. "We will always back you up in a fight."

"Thanks, Bao. That means a lot."

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**A/N: So, I've gotten into the habit of ending these one-shots with Dei saying something. I don't know why. This one is a little shorter than the other one, I think. But whatever. I like it better. It shows a different side of Dei than you see in the other one.**

**So, rcomment and review and whatnot! **

**\m/^.^\m/ Chaseon!  
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